What I Promised
by Monica Moss
Summary: Xover with The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Written for Hottiegally's challenge. The Prime Merlinian has completed his training. After making a promise to Balthazar, he's set out to seek an apprentice. Who? Someone not completely human...


**Here's what happens when I accept Hottiegally's favorite challenge. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

* * *

What I Promised

The deep sleep was starting to wear off, and the boy stirred. "Hello, Danny," I said.

After I'd completed training with my own master, Balthazar, I'd been looking for an apprentice to add to the numbers of Merlinians. It was the last thing I'd promised Balthazar before setting off as a fully trained Merlinian. I would train the first one I came across that had both potential and no mentor to speak of.

Danny would be the next one to join our ranks and combat Morganians. I'd been observing him for months, and I'd seen what he could do. He wasn't a normal human – and not just in the way that sorcerers are not normal humans. He was half-ghost, and had a great potential for sorcery.

Danny looked up at me. "You know me?" he asked.

I laughed and said, "Yes, Danny. I know who you are, and what you can become. I've known since the day we first met."

Danny gave me a funny look. "We haven't met," he said.

"Actually, we have, you just don't remember."

"What are ... "

I smiled and threw an energy ball at the wall. I enlarged it to make a screen. The time I'd first met the halfa began to play from my memories...

* * *

_- Flashback_ -

I'd been giving a lecture on the wonders of cryogenics. I'd had a good feeling about the lecture. Maybe that day would be the day I found myself an apprentice.

I scanned the audience often, looking for a face that looked a lot more enthusiastic than the others. By far the most noticeable member of the audience was a large fat man wearing a bright orange jumpsuit, but he didn't look any more enthusiastic than any normal human. Still, I had a feeling.

Beside the man, a sleepy-looking teenager was slowly leaning further and further forward toward the floor. To be honest, none of the audience looked like they had an exceptional love and talent for physics. None of them were acting like it either – I'd purposely thrown some major mistakes into my explanation to try to get a reaction from anyone in the audience – but not even when I messed up what any high school student would be able to tell you did I get a reaction.

I'd had a good feeling about the lecture, but I was starting to suspect that I wouldn't find the type of person I was looking for here. I had only one thing left to try before I'd give up on the idea completely...

"And now for some demonstrations!" I announced. "Are there any young physics fans out there that would like to volunteer?"

There was a serious lack of volunteers in the audience. Only two hands went up, but neither were volunteering themselves. The large guy in the orange jumpsuit had grabbed the arm of the sleepy teen next to him and forced it into the air. I sighed and asked, "Would anyone like to volunteer _themselves_?"

No one did. Apparently, nothing I'd be able to do in this lecture would help me locate the very special person I needed to find and train. I might as well just get the demonstrations I'd promised finished with. "Okay, get up here kid," I said.

"Thanks a lot Dad," the kid mumbled as he walked up to the front.

I tried my best to look encouraging as the kid came closer. I instructed him: "Okay, so what I want you to do is put this model space shuttle in the liquid nitrogen using the tongs. Be careful not to freeze your hand."

"Okay," he mumbled. "I'll do it." He took the shuttle and took the tongs, but he made no move to obey the instructions.

"After the model has been put in liquid nitrogen for a couple seconds, it should become frail and brittle," I told the audience. I reached behind the podium and pulled out another model shuttle. "I have here an identical model, so that we can compare the force needed to break either one."

I looked over at the boy, who still wasn't putting the shuttle in the liquid nitrogen. He had a strange smile on his face. "Hey dude, if I put this shuttle all the way down into the tank for a minute and it comes out the same as it was, can I keep it?" he asked.

I laughed. Either this was the one I'd been searching for, or he just didn't believe that cold would make the shuttle brittle. "All right," I agreed. "If the nitrogen that's in the tank doesn't affect it, then you may keep it."

The boy grinned. He slowly put the shuttle into the tank, but it never reached the liquid nitrogen, no matter how far down he put it. Something was happening with the liquid nitrogen to make the whole tank heat up and evaporate in just over a second – and that something was leaving green gooey residue.

As the boy set the shuttle on the bottom of the tank and started timing, I grinned. It had taken a while, but I'd found the one I was looking for. I'd known something good was going to happen at this lecture!

The boy pulled the shuttle out of the empty tank and placed it on the table. "See, it was at the bottom of the tank for one minute and it came out exactly the same. I get to keep it!"

I nodded. "So you do. Would you mind explaining just what it is you did with the liquid nitrogen?"

The boy's face paled. "Uh..." he said. "I've got to go – bye!" He ran toward the nearest exit as if running from death itself.

"Danny!" the man in the orange jumpsuit said. "Where are you going? Come back!"

But Danny had gotten my attention. I just had to find out a little bit more about him before making him my apprentice. So I resolved to watch him...

-_ End Flashback -

* * *

_

"I guess I was pretty stupid to do something like that to get the model shuttle," Danny mumbled, "and just because I thought your traveling lecture job would make you leave town forever before you could tell anyone anything you might have seen."

I shook my head. "I didn't become a physics lecturer because I wanted to – although being able to show off what I love was a major bonus – but because I needed to look for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Danny repeated. "But we're really rare."

"I know your type are rare – only what – three of you in existence?" I whispered, "but I wasn't talking about your ghost half..."

Danny went chalky white when I admitted to knowing about his ghost mode. From what I'd seen, he had some good reasons to hide the knowledge from people. Great. Because I'd said something, he was probably envisioning some painful and inhumane experiments being done on him.

Looking around, I whispered, "I was talking about sorcerers. And I'm not interested in hurting you – I'm interested in training you."

"Sorcerers?" he said, sounding surprised. "But I'm _not_ a sorcerer!"

"You'd be surprised at how many sorcerers don't know they're a sorcerer," I said. "I didn't learn what I was until I was in college." Well, I guess a part of me might have known after the incident in Balthazar's shop when I was ten, but seeing as how he'd gotten trapped in an urn for ten years, he didn't have a chance to explain much to me.

I pulled out a standard Merlinian ring. "This is how my master could tell. Not this same ring, but a ring similar in design." I offered it to Danny. "Here, take it. If it likes you, you'll have proof."

Danny didn't immediately take the proffered ring though. "What does it do?" he asked.

"Smart boy," I said, grinning. "Intelligence can be another sign of a sorcerer – especially when they're smarts involve physics. You see, we aren't normal humans. You've heard how humans don't use more than ten percent of their brain, right?"

Danny nodded. "And we can?" he asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we can!" I said. "Sorcerers can use one hundred percent of their brain. We use the other ninety percent to manipulate energy and matter."

There was an awkward moment when Danny stared at me. "You're crazy!" he exclaimed. "You are completely insane! There is _no way_ that I'm a sorcerer!"

"Just take the ring," I said impatiently. I knew very well that the idea of being a sorcerer sounded crazy to those not formerly acquainted with sorcery. He'd just have to get used to the idea.

Danny cautiously took the ring, which came to life in his hand. "Wow..." he gasped.

I grinned at him. "The ring only does that for sorcerers," I said. "Do you need any more proof you're a sorcerer?"

Danny slowly shook his head 'no,' still staring in fascination at the little metal dragon ring that had wrapped itself around his middle finger.

"Sorcery," I continued, "is both magic and science. The magic is the means to manipulate energy, and the science is the knowledge needed to do so. Having seen you manipulate energy as a ghost would, I'd imagine you could catch onto sorcery pretty quickly."

"Who are you anyways?" Danny asked, finally looking up at me -the stranger who'd kidnapped him in the dead of night.

"My name is Dave," I said, "and you are my apprentice. I am your mentor, as I promised Balthazar I'd be."


End file.
